How long have you been at VEGA?
I started in January 2005. Of these 12 years I’ve worked 7 years in the internal sales department, it provided me with excellent experience with our products and an understanding of what our customers really want. Now, for the last month I have started working in the field sales team.
Now you are a new member of the field sales team, what experiences have you had with our 80 GHz radar VEGAPULS 64?
I’ve had many very good experiences. Especially in field sales, it has been fun to participate in promoting and demonstrating a completely new product. Customer response has been fantastic and demand is very high, we get consistently positive feedback – especially in conjunction with the Bluetooth display and adjustment module, PLICSCOM.
You can now tackle many applications that just would not have been possible before. The capabilities of level measurement technology have really been extended. I have had a lot of positive experience in this area.
For what areas do you recommend other measuring principles?
There is no blanket answer to that question. It makes no sense to use radar if the customer needs to measure bulk solids exactly to the kilogram. Or if the installation conditions do not allow radar, i.e. if you cannot measure from above. In many cases, several different factors are involved. Of course, one important point is, the price. If you can get a capacitive electrode or a pressure transmitter for half the price of a radar, that’s a big deal. For very simple applications a radar based device simply overkill. That's why VEGA will always offer a range of technologies, and experienced advice to go with them.
A lot of advertising was done for this instrument. Do the adverts keep what they promise?
In the overwhelming majority of cases, yes. We say that foam is no longer a problem, but in reality it’s not that simple. It depends on various factors and foam can indeed be a knock-out factor under certain conditions.
Can you recommend the radar sensor for measurement in long mounting nozzles?
Yes, I can. Absolutely. However, it still makes sense to keep the nozzle or upstand as short as possible. But that's not a knock-out factor like it used to be. What we will always recommend is to make sure the lower end of the socket is smooth and burr-free, it’s good engineering practice and it discourages any long-term buildup and blockages. Apart from those few things you have to watch out for, measurement through a mounting socket is now as easy as ABC.